Category: Year Round

January-February 2022 Newsletter

Our latest newsletter is now available here: Jan – Feb 2022 newsletter  Our club members get the full newsletter, delivered right off the presses directly to their email inboxes. Just a reminder: membership dues for 2022 are due right now.  Mail a check for $10 for a single membership or $15 for a family membership to: NWFT, P.O. Box 8147, Omaha, NE 68108

Our Annual Dinner meeting will be held on January 15th – reservations were due before the publication of this notice. Our 2022 Officers will be installed and the 2021 Walker of the Year award will be awarded. 

Our next regular club meeting will be held at Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S. 85th Avenue, Omaha, NE in the upstairs chapel area at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 7th. If you read the newsletter, you’d know that our scheduled speaker for February is on “Ollie the Trolley”! Be sure to bring a mask to wear while at the meeting, as requested by our host.

Our next scheduled group walk will be an indoors walk at the Westroads Mall on Saturday, January 22nd at 9 a.m. Cost is $3 per walker; come 15 minutes early to pay (exact change!) and sign the waiver. We’ll meet on the 2nd floor at the play area by Penney’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods. There’s a entrance door tucked away by Penney’s – you can use that to come inside.

Everyone who has lived in these parts for a while knows that Nebraska winters are very unpredictable. What do you do if there’s a 40F degree day and you want to walk and we don’t have anything scheduled? Well, we’ve got 11 Year Round Walks just for you – some right close and some a bit further away. Check out all of our Year Round Events and start planning on those 4 Seasonal Walks at this page on our website: Seasonal and Year Round Events  Invite a friend, take the family or walk on your own – they’re all great walks that you can do anytime you feel the urge to walk!

December 2021

Saturday, December 4th, 4 to 6 p.m. – annual Lights Walk at the Urban Abbey, 1026 Jackson Street in Omaha’s Old Market.  Surface parking lots and parking meters are available in the area. Cost is $3 per walker. The Urban Abbey will have hot drinks for sale, while our club will provide complimentary cookies. Our host has asked us to support their mission with the YES Maternity Group Home by bringing diapers for sizes 3 and up. We’ll be offering “diaper shares” for a $5 donation.  Donations are not required, but as always, are greatly appreciated. Register online using this eRegistration Link.  MASKS REQUIRED DURING CHECK-IN.

Monday, December 6th, 7 p.m. – monthly club meeting at Morning Star Lutheran Church, 331 S. 85th Avenue, Omaha, in the chapel.  After our speaker, a short business meeting will be conducted, including in-person voting for 2022 Club Officers and the 2021 Walker of the Year. MASKS REQUIRED.

–>Note about voting: The club tried a new (free) way to conduct on-line voting for 2022 Club Officers and the 2021 Walker of the Year. We’re learning that several club members may not have received the link to vote, due to their internet provider’s spam filters. If you are a club member and wish to vote on-line (rather than in-person at the club meeting on December 6th), first check your Spam Folders for the November 16th invitation to vote. If you can’t find it, contact netrailblazers@gmail.com and you’ll be sent the link to vote.

12/31/2021 – That’s when all club memberships expire. Look for your renewal notice, coming soon.

The 2022 Calendar of Walks and Events will be posted as soon as a couple of details get finalized.  Saturday, January 22, 2022 at 9 a.m. at the Westroads Mall is the first group walk of the year, so mark your calendars now!

 

May 2021 newsletter and updates

Here’s the May-June 2021 club newsletter, edited for the web. Club members receive the full newsletter immediately upon publication. Membership for the remainder of 2021 is FREE, so download the application and mail it to the Post Office box or email it to netrailblazers@gmail.com.

Sandy has a lot to say in this newsletter, such as having more spur-of-the-moment walks, like the one she’s leading next week on Thursday, May 13th at 10 a.m. on one of our new Seasonal Walks – the Wabash Trace.  Meet 15 minutes early in the parking lot of the Iowa West Foundation Trailhead just down the street from the Tastee Treet at 13996 Wabash Ave in Council Bluffs. The parking lot is at the intersection of South Omaha Bridge Road and Harry Langdon Avenue. The Wabash Trace does ask for a $2 fee to be deposited into the fee box for each walker using the Trace.

Sandy isn’t collecting any money for this walk – if you’re a Credit Walker, be sure to stop in at the Tastee Treet after the walk to pay your $3 and get your book(s) stamped.

Or, register via the Online Start Box! Directions on how to use the Online Start Box are now on our website.  The Online Start Box is really handy when you want to do the Omaha Downtown and Hanscom Park walks – no more driving down to the physical start box and then driving back to the places where the walks start! And of course, the only way you can register for the Veterans and Libraries Walk is via the Online Start Box. 

Finally, club president Steve wants everyone to know that the Free Park Day Walk at Mahoney State Park on Saturday, May 15th is now offering 5k and 6k loops, an increase of 1 kilometer of walking. Also, the club will be collecting cash donations for the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s Walk, Run and Roll event. There will be a donations box at the Start Table. Remember – if you register online, you’ll just check in, deposit your payment and take a map – in and out in 3 minutes or less!

Lots of News! and a Newsletter

It’s hard to keep track of everything that’s changing, isn’t it! Our crack reporter and newsletter editor Julie put together another great newsletter – and in the last couple of days, we’ve got more news and updates to pass along to you.

First, the newsletter:

You can download it here: NWFT May – June 2020 newsletter

Now for the updates:

  • Our May 9th Traditional Walk, rescheduled from April, is CANCELED.
  • No decision has been made at this time about our June 1st Club Meeting.
  • 20 Iowa Parks in 2020 seasonal walking program has OPENED as of May 1st.  All facilities are not open at the parks until at least May 15th, although one or two toilets may be available.  Try to be flexible if you want to walk before the 15th and do follow all Iowa social distancing guidelines.
  • Speaking of the Iowa Parks program, Lake Anita State Park’s POC Jill reports that the Start Box is temporarily located inside the Park Office, until the campgrounds open on May 15th.
  • Still speaking of the Iowa Parks program, the June 6th Group Walks at Lewis and Clark and Stone State Parks have been CANCELED.  These are fantastic walks that you can do on your own, but not with a group at this time. Maybe in the fall?
  • Omaha Hanscom Park YRE has REOPENED.
  • Omaha Westroads Mall YRE is still CLOSED.
  • A New Seasonal Walk, with Little Free Library!,  has been ADDED in Southeastern Council Bluffs, courtesy of Sandy Spaulding.  Info at: AVA website listing

UPDATES TO OUR YEAR ROUND WALKS

Updated May 4, 2020, 3 p.m.

Just added: a new Seasonal Walk May 1 – Sept. 30th in southeastern rural Council Bluffs!  It even has a Little Free Library.  See details here: Country Knolls – Council Bluffs

Our club hosts 8 different year round walks (YREs) that you can do on your own, at any time that the hosting business for our walk box is open.  Of those 8 YREs, one has been closed and one has had some changes to their accessibility.

The Hanscom Park Walk, sanction #114315, registers at the Comfort Inn at the Zoo, and starts within Hanscom Park. The City of Omaha has reopened all city parks, so this walk has re-opened.

The Westroads Mall Walk, sanction #115089, registers at the AmericInn at 9720 W Dodge Rd, Omaha, NE 68114, just across the street from the Westroads Mall. The AmericInn is closed and the Walk Box is not available.  The Mall itself has shortened its hours of operation, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Most stores in the mall are closed, as is the Food Court.  is closed to shoppers and walkers.

Across the Missouri River, the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Black Squirrel Walk, sanction #114319, registers at Lansky’s at 1131 N Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503.  Lansky’s is closing earlier and is offering takeout food only, with no access to bathrooms. Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  Management has asked walkers to take the Walk Box outside to complete paperwork and then to return it.

2020 Walk Booklet – just published!

Our 2020 Walk Booklet is just filled with so many walks and activities that you’re going to need to pull out your calendars NOW and mark them all!

Just check out the new weblink here to see it and the instructions for printing 28 pages bursting with information on just 7 sheets of paper!

Our first regular walking event is Saturday, March 7th – our annual Soup Walk, complete with Raffle.  Our booklet editor, Julie, calls it our “Winter-Be-Gone” Soup Walk.  Hope so! – there’s an Ice Cream Parlor on the route (one of three Special Programs available on this walk).

 

What time? Where? Registration? It’s all in the booklet! But we’ll be posting later this month to remind you.  🙂

 

Shelby Year Round Event Closing August 3rd

A view of the Start Point from the trail`
A view of the Start Point from the trail

The hosting business for our Year Round Event in Shelby, Iowa is closing its doors in August.  The Corn Crib was a good host and served some great food!

Our club will say farewell to this walk on the morning of Saturday, August 3rd.  At 8 a.m., we’ll hold a Meet and Eat.  Groups of 5k and 10k walkers will head out and return for a late breakfast or early lunch together.  $2 for Fun Walkers, $3 for AVA/IVV credit (book stampers).  Exact change is always appreciated!

After the walk, the Walk Box will be removed from the premises.  So if you’ve been planning to walk this beautiful walk, take advantage of the group walk on August 3rd or during the promised break in hot weather coming up soon.

Year Round Events Site Updated

Thank you to the eagle-eyed observer who came to our walk today and pointed out that the links to our list of Year Round Events at https://www.nebraskatrailblazers.com/calendar-of-events/our-year-round-and-other-area-clubs-events/ weren’t working. The links were fixed and are working as of today. Please note that our links are to a 3rd-party site and that those links may change without our knowledge.

To report problems, please email netrailblazers@gmail.com. We don’t want anyone missing out!

WALKING OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE OUR AREA

At our April club meeting, we talked about local and regional walking opportunities. Here is a map of upcoming One-Day Events in the North Central Region and a map of Spring Walking Weekends in the South Central Region. Locations shown on the maps may not be precise. Clicking on an icon will take you to walk details posted on www.ava.org, showing dates, times and exact directions to the walks.

North Central Region Traditional Events – remainder of 2019

South Central Region Spring Walks – from flyers sent to our club

And the Walker of the year award goes to . . .

Lee Frantz (right) receives the 2018 Walker of the Year Award

Our annual meeting and dinner was held Saturday, January 19th at Valentino’s Pizza south of 108th and L Streets in Omaha. The 2019 Officers were installed and the Walker of the Year award was given to Lee Frantz, club president in 2017 and recently installed as president for 2019.

From l to r: Jill Champley, Lee Frantz, Jeanne Miller, Tricia Abel

Just a reminder that our next club activity is our January 26th Meet and Eat (details here: https://www.nebraskatrailblazers.com/happy-new-year-of-walking/.   Club members can use the Westroads Mall Walk as part of their 2019 Incentive Program (details here: https://www.nebraskatrailblazers.com/announcing-our-2019-walker-incentive-program/